Beyond Control
by uchihafangirll
Summary: I was contented seeing you from afar. I did not wish to make things complicated. High School AU
1. Chapter 1

_It was that kind of love that one can expect from being a teenager. A typical crush on the most handsome, most popular guy in the school. He was the captain of the basketball team. Smart. Mysterious. It is only natural for a girl to take a liking on this kind of guy. He was in a different section, but she knew his schedule anyways. She was one of the girls who would watch him practice in the gym. Every Friday at exactly 5 in the afternoon. She silently begged for his attention. But she never dared to confess her feelings. For all she knew he would not stoop down to her level._

 _But it all changed when he became her classmate._

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Second year in high school started normally for Sakura Haruno. She carried all her books and notes to her class and settled for a seat in the last row near the window. She often come to class thirty minutes prior to the lecture to read in advance. As she was scanning the pages of her book, she heard the sound of the door closing. She was slightly confused since there were still twenty minutes left before the class starts.

She looked up only to see Sasuke Uchiha already looking at her questionably. He was wearing a hoodie over his school uniform with his bagpack slung over his shoulder. He stared at her expectantly when she continued to gaze at him.

Sasuke cleared his throat when he could not take her silence anymore. "Are you okay? You looked like you had seen a ghost." Only then did Sakura recover from her shock and apologized quickly. Sasuke then repeated his question.

"I asked if this is the room for Mr. Hatake's class."

"Oh! Yes! Uh..but it will not yet start for about fifteen minutes and is late all the time anyways..so uh you see he arrives at least twenty minutes late and also I am rambling. I am sorry." She bowed her head in shame, but to her surprise, Sasuke just took a seat in front of her.

He put his hand under his chin and watched the clouds outside. Sakura began to feel uncomfortable. For the very first time, she could not understand what the book tries to convey. She kept her head down and quietly observed the guy in front of her. After a few more minutes, the basketball heartthrob had used his hoodie to cover his face and slowly inclined his head on the arm chair. He must be tired, being a student-athlete.

The bell rang, and in a minute, the classroom was full of students chatting.

The girls, as expected, took notice of the presence of the most popular guy in school. Many of which tried to fight over the empty seat beside him. However, his best friend, Naruto Uzumaki, an obnoxious, loud, and too bright for Sakura's liking, had immediately threw his bag on the empty seat. The guy had tapped Sasuke's shoulder much to the latter's annoyance.

"Sasuke! Why did you leave me?! I thought I told you last night to drop by early in the morning! I barely made it on time!" He scolded Sasuke.

Sasuke, in turn, glared at him. "What? Did you break your damn alarm clock again?"

Naruto quickly slung his arm on his best friend's shoulder. "Now, now. Don't be mad. It was not my fault that you happened to be living next to our house." And then Naruto crouched down a bit and lowered his voice considerably intending only for Sasuke to hear. "You know I look good whenever I get to walk beside you to the entrance gates."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. "If you just bothered to check your phone, I actually sent you a message saying I had training at seven. I did not do it on purpose. I couldn't care less if you'll look cool-" Naruto had covered Sasuke's mouth instantly, laughing nervously.

Seeing her long-time crush interacting with his best friend right in front of her caused a giddy feeling building up in her heart. Sakura had always just watched him from afar. In her opinion, he was not just handsome, he's also cool and smart and just perfect.

Naruto then, noticed her presence. "Oh! Sakura-chan! Glad you're my classmate too! Mom says hi, by the way." Sakura automatically smiled. She and Naruto had been friends because of their parents. They had been neighbors a long time ago. His mom, Kushina, had the same energy for Kizashi's (Sakura's dad) jokes. They got really along until the Uzumaki's have to move to a much larger house.

Sasuke eyed them questionably. "Oh, right. Sakura-chan, this is Sasuke. You know, the one I was telling you with a stuck-up attitude but really popular in our school." Sasuke's eye twitched in response, but Naruto continued nonetheless. "My neighbor slash best friend, yeah?"

Sakura hesitantly extended her hand for him to shake. Sasuke merely looked at her extended hand. "Teme! Don't be rude. Sakura-chan's very nice and well..my future girlfriend so you better get along with her as early as now." Naruto had grabbed Sasuke's right hand, urging the latter to shake Sakura's hand.

Naruto had always joked about their so-called future on her. He had made himself quite clear of his feelings for the girl. But almost all the time, she would brush it off and take it as a joke.

Ten, twenty minutes had gone by and yet, there were still no signs of Mr. Hatake's presence. Being used to that, Sakura had tried to distract herself by reading her book once again while everyone was complaining.

And after another five minutes, only then did Mr. Kakashi Hatake showed up, clearing his throat to make his presence known. "Good morning. I apologize for being tardy in the first day of class, my dear students. You see, there was an old woman who had to cross the street and I had to-"

He was then cut off by Naruto saying their teacher was nothing but a liar. As everybody in the class settled down on their seats, Mr. Hatake had begun his lecture. Sakura had always liked Mr. Hatake's simple and explicit way of teaching Math. But on that day, as she was staring at the back of Sasuke's head, it was hard to concentrate.

And boy, she had no idea that it would be just like that everyday.

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On the third day of class, Sasuke had noticed how her cheeks would blush at the sight of him.

"Are you ill?" He would ask. Sakura, in return, would profusely shook her head no. And if possible, her face would even become redder.

Many girls in their class had gathered around his seat almost all the time. But much to everyone's disappointment, Naruto would be the one to answer the girls' questions. Sasuke had the tendency to look outside, watching the clouds and ignoring everyone in the room. He had been uneasily quiet; he rarely talked unless necessary.

One thing Sakura had also found out was that he was very smart, a genius, in Sakura's opinion. He could remember everything that the teachers had said. He did not even bother to take down notes. Unlike Sakura, who would study and review her notes every night to stay on top.

As the bell rang, all the students had immediately went to the canteen to have their lunch. But not Sakura. She had stayed inside the classroom, waiting for her bestfriend Ino who was placed in another section. The pink-haired girl was then surprised to find Sasuke and Naruto choosing to have their lunch inside the classroom too.

"Eh, Sakura-chan? Are you not going to buy some food?" Naruto asked.

"My mom had prepared my bento box today." She had shifted her eyes on Sasuke then and shyly asked. "How bout you guys? We have P.E. today so you better not skip lunch."

"I'm not skipping. I have ramen for lunch! But Sasuke is being stubborn picky-eater again, refusing to buy some food because of the crowd. Talk to him, Sakura-chan. I even offered my ramen to him." Naruto scratched his head before putting out two cups of ramen from his bag. He had dashed out of the room, saying he would be back after five minutes after he got some hot water.

Awkwardly, Sakura started to eat her lunch. She had been conscious the entire time, looking at her watch from time to time, cursing Ino for being late. A growling noise then echoed the room, making it obvious how hungry Sasuke is.

"Uh..you should probably eat something. If you want, I can buy something for you." She laughed nervously. Sasuke turned his head from his seat and eyed the girl curiously. Sakura automatically melted from her seat, blood rushed to her cheeks. "I can also share my onigiri. I think mom packed more than she usually do. That is only if you want to." She quickly added.

"Hn. Thanks."

Sakura extended her bento box, indicating for him to get some. They silently ate afterwards. "So you're Sakura, Naruto's girl."

"Eh? No. No. You probably got the wrong idea. We just grew up together, that's all." She shook her head too many times.

"That is not what he said." Sasuke replied as he munched his food.

Before Sakura could further protest, Naruto had made his presence known stating that while walking, he had already eaten the last of his food. Even complaining that it used to have more.

Ino did not come that day, texting Sakura that she did not want to disturb her and Mr. Gorgeous.

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It had become a habit, for the three of them to eat their lunch together at the classroom. At first, girls were giving Sakura dirty looks, being close to Sasuke. But Naruto being too vocal about his feelings for his childhood friend had easily made everyone believe that there was really something going on between them. Hence, the girls left her alone soon after.

Naruto had also, without question, picked Sasuke and Sakura to be his groupmates in every project. Sasuke would often comment about how his best friend was just taking advantage of their closeness, choosing the top two students in the class.

Until one day, Naruto had chosen not to attend the class due to a stomachache. Mr. Hatake, valuing teamwork the most, had always been giving activities into groups. And with Sakura not really close to anyone in the room, she had started to worry to be left out. At that time, with Naruto out of the picture, girls in the room had already surrounded Sasuke asking him to be his partner.

Sasuke had been irritated. He had turned his head to look at Sakura, as if asking for help. Until Kakashi had already decided to interfere.

"Settle down, girls. Uzumaki being absent does not mean you can harass Uchiha. Let him decide who he wants to work with." He winked at Sakura's direction as if he knew all along how she felt for the Uchiha.

Hence, Sasuke had stood up from his seat and wordlessly pulled his chair next to Sakura's.

Many had complained, of course. Mostly the female population of the room, saying that the top two students should not be paired up. But Kakashi had already been too busy reading his favorite novel to entertain the complaints.

Lunch was even more awkward. Without Naruto, the silence is deafening. Sakura had always been kind enough to offer some of her food to her companion. And even if Sasuke now had been wise enough to bring his own bento box, he would still silently accept the girl's offer.

"So..uh.. how's your basketball training?" Sakura asked when she could not already handle the deafening silence.

"It's fine." He replied shortly. His back on her while watching the serene display of clouds through the window.

"Why do you think Naruto is absent today?" She asked curiously.

"He's an idiot for exhausting himself during training last night. Also, eating nothing but ramen for the past week."

"Eh? I didn't know Naruto applied for tryouts."

Sakura could not help but sigh inwardly when the awkward silence had settled between the two of them once again.

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Without Sakura realizing, she and the most popular guy in school had been hanging out everyday, with Naruto, of course. It had eventually became a habit for the three of them. Many girls had even asked Sakura for help thinking that their chances would have increased if they got the pink-haired girl on their side.

During the midterms, Sakura had a difficult time finding a room for herself in the library. She also went searching for an empty classroom, but to no avail, she had been unlucky that day. That was when an idea popped into her head. Knowing that there would be no practice for the varsity team since it was midterms, she had went to the basketball gym (thankful that it was not locked) and settled down on one of the benches.

She was writing down formulas for their Math exam when Sasuke entered the gym with a basket ball on his right hand. Sakura had been frozen at first, not knowing what to say. Same goes for Sasuke.

"This is not a suitable place to study, in my opinion." It was Sasuke who had chose to break the silence that time.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't know you guys have practice. Let me just fix my things and I'll leave." She began to messily put all of her things inside her bag when Sasuke had started to dribble the ball.

"I don't mind. You staying here, I mean." He said in between his dribbling and shooting. "We don't have training, if you were wondering." He quickly added.

Only then did Sakura noticed that Sasuke was still wearing his school uniform. She had stopped in her tracks and decided to continue studying inside the gym. As if the sound of the ball bouncing was not distracting enough, Sakura had discreetly watched the man of her dreams play the sport he loves. He was good, no, he was amazing. And even if Sakura had been watching him almost every week from afar, she could not stop her heart from beating so loudly at the sight of him being so close.

"It seems you had lost your focus." Sasuke said, with his eyes still concentrated on the ring, shooting from beyond the three-point line.

Caught off-guard, Sakura felt that her cheeks had grown warm. "Well, you are not studying, and I am wondering why." She had completely made him the subject of their conversation.

"I don't need to. And you and I both know it." His confidence had slightly irked Sakura.

After that, Sakura had frequently made herself comfortable studying in the gym.

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A field trip to Kirigakure had been arranged for the second year students. It would be for a two days and a one night stay. Obviously, the girls and boys were assigned in a different dorm-type rooms. Sasuke had been irritated considerably. Not only he had to share a room to a certain obnoxious loud-mouth, he also had to deal with two other guys he couldn't care less. He made a note to himself to ask Kakashi if he could have a room for himself.

Sakura, on the other hand, was a little uneasy. She was not given a chance to hang out to the girls in her class. Fortunately, Tenten, a girl with a cute double bun hairstyle, had been assigned to be her seatmate in the bus. In Sakura's opinion, Tenten is weird but in a good way. The idea of weapons and ninja tools fascinated the said girl. Sakura did not know but she was thankful for that.

It had been a long 3-hour drive to Kiri. Kakashi had been pretty lenient. He kept to himself, either sleeping or reading his favorite book during the trip. When Naruto suggested that the class should have a bonfire, Sasuke instantly covered his best friend's mouth saying that their sensei was present. Kakashi shrugged in return. "If you guys are planning to sneak out later at night, how do I say this.." He put his hand on his chin before continuing. "Just don't let other teachers caught you, or else I'll get scolded too."

They went to a museum, a monument, and other historical places. There was a tour guide who explained briefly the history of Kiri. By one o'clock in the afternoon, they stopped by in a famous food park to have their lunch. The students were also given a two-hour free time before they headed to their dorm places, which apparently located by the beach.

Naruto instantly dragged Sakura into their group. The guys started to tease them, asking Sakura when she would accept Naruto as her boyfriend. A blush tinged the pink-haired girl's cheeks; she did not bother to answer the question asking the boys to cut it out. She, instead, turned her head into Sasuke's direction. But much to her disappointment, Sasuke had already slipped out of the group.

In a matter of two to five minutes, Naruto had eventually found Sasuke in one of the tables, quietly eating onigiri. Much to Sakura's surprise, Sasuke did not bother to yell and lunge out at his best friend's proximity. Naruto had left them to the table and went to a food stall selling ramen.

"Sasuke-kun, what do you think should I buy for lunch? Takoyaki sounds good to me, but I think I want some Donburi." She asked him.

But to Sakura's shock, Sasuke glared at her. "You are annoying." He stood up from his seat, leaving a stupefied Sakura still trying to figure out what just happened.

She called for Ino to which she spent the remaining time of her free time with.

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True to Naruto's words, their class had planned to sneak out. Their class representative had even came up with an idea to leave at past midnight so that they would be sure that the teachers were already asleep.

Sakura thought that she would not participate in such thing. First of all, it was a stupid idea. Second, she did not want to get scolded or worse, get her scholarship taken away from her. She was over thinking again, she realized. But when Tenten woke her up at an ungodly hour of one in the morning, she tossed a pillow over her head, hoping that they would simply left her.

"Sakura, you better wake up this instant. Or you'll be sorry, I swear." Hearing that, the sleepy girl could not help but sigh in irritation and rubbed her eyes.

Her classmates used the back door, as to not disturb the other students sleeping in the other rooms.

Sakura was still half-asleep when she had gotten out of the rest house. The breeze of the wind was too strong; she then only realized that she had forgotten her jacket. She was only clad in her sleeveless undershirt and pajamas. She was on her way back when Tenten gripped her arm, accusing her of abandoning the class.

A little too far from the rest house, a bonfire was already lit and most of her classmates had already gathered around. She put her arms around her to keep her warm. Tenten had warned her not to go back so Sakura had no choice but to unsteadily descend the stairs. Even before she could reach the last step of the staircase, a hand pulled her back.

She was ready to punch the living daylights out of that person, but as she turned around, she visibly tensed then relaxed. Sasuke, dressed in his hoodie and sweatpants, stared at her with a raised brow. He still looked impossibly attractive, despite the bed hair. To Sakura, he even looked more boyish and handsome with it.

Remembering his earlier reaction to her, she lowered her head to apologize. "Sasuke-kun. I- Look, I am sorry if I annoy you in any way. Just tell me and I will keep my distance. I will even tell Naruto-"

"Don't." He cut her off. Sakura chose that instance to raise her head to see his face. He pursed his lips together in effort not to lose his control. "I was having a bad day."

She then blinked in response. "Oh." She smiled genuinely, knowing that he was apologizing in his own way. "Let's go then? I think they're waiting for us." She went down the stairs and waited for him to keep up with her steps.

Before she knew it, Sasuke had once again pulled her back. She eyed him questionably. "Sasuke-kun?"

He had discarded off his jacket and quickly shoved it to her hands. She once again blinked in surprise. "You're shivering." Before any protest leave Sakura's lips, Sasuke shook his head. "Just put it on."

She simply stared at his back as he walked away. She fixed her eyes at his hoodie on her hands. She blushed at the thought of wearing it, remembering a particular scene with the novel she was currently reading.

"What? Do you expect me to put it on for you?" The sound of Sasuke's voice startled her; a teasing smirk threatening to appear on his lips as he turned to look at her.

Sakura could swear her face was as red as tomato that night.

Unknown to them, Tenten had hidden in the nearby tree to watch the whole ordeal. The girl would be sure to tease her roommate once they were back in their room.

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A/N: Idk, what do you guys think? This will probably shorter that I intended. Like maybe three-shot? I just like the idea of HS fic. Hence, this story. Thanks for reading! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto could not contain his happiness when the coach of the team announced that he would be playing for Konoha High in the upcoming basketball season. Among him, other second year and third year students were also selected to join the cup and of course his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha.

The team members had undergone an intense training every day after class which resulted to spending less time with Sakura. He hoped that his childhood friend would take his feelings for her seriously this time. They had matured, and unlike what she thought, his feelings never changed. Back when they were kids, it could easily have been mistaken as a silly crush. She was the top of the class; she had mesmerizing eyes, long hair.

He never understood then how could such a pretty girl be bullied. He defended her to which she was grateful but still wasn't enough for her to notice his growing feelings. Until Ino came in, and suddenly they spent less and less time playing together. To the point where they had to leave because of his father's job.

During the break of their team practice, he smacked Sasuke on the shoulder who was then drinking cold water from his blue water jag to quench his thirst. Automatically, Sasuke's eyes twitched and was about to pour the water to the idiot. But Naruto was quick to get away.

After a while, Naruto asked about his opinion about their pink-haired girl companion. His bestfriend's angry reaction turned into somewhat a confused one before turning to his usual unreadable, calm and collected facade. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I dunno, maybe I want to hear something from you. We've been hanging out for a while now. She's bubbly and nice, right?" Naruto turned to Sasuke who was sitting beside him in one of the benches.

"She's…okay. Tolerable." The high school heartthrob said, careful of what he may had to say.

"What? That's it? She's okay? You seriously are lame, Bastard." Naruto replied, standing up.

"What do you want me to say then?" Sasuke crossed his arms, looking at his companion with a challenging look.

"Maybe I want my best friend's support! God, Sasuke, I am finally telling you about this girl I like since we were kids. Be a man and tell me some stupid advice because that's what brothers like us do!" The blonde then sighed and continued. "You know what? Never mind, there maybe thousands of girls screaming your name on court, but I am sure you are still one clueless broody guy who still couldn't get a girl."

In response, Naruto received a death glare from Sasuke. "Tch, I need no such thing. It is a waste of time."

"Keep telling yourself that. One day when you really fall head over heels for a certain girl, I'll be the first one to laugh at you." Sasuke ignored the blonde's statement altogether; he shook his head and gathered all the players in the court once again.

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Given the busy schedule of both Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura had been spending more time with some of her female classmates and Ino. Her closest friend had always teased her about her long-time crush.

"No. It's not what you think. He probably tolerates me because Naruto insists to include me in their group. I cannot even say we're friends, Pig." Sakura told Ino during lunch break. The two were alone in Ino's classroom this time. The pink-haired girl was seated to her usual seat, on the last row near the window, while Ino settled down beside her.

"Oh come on! You're wasting such a big opportunity to make a move. You, my friend, could be the closest thing that sulking guy had as a female companion. He's the hottest guy and Mr. Oh so Perfect of this school, and if I weren't with Sai right now, I'll not waste a second and just jump on him. Seriously, I'll even ditch our friendship for him." Ino said, winking.

"Are you serious? I'm hurt. Oh, my poor heart. My best friend chooses to ruin our friendship because of a guy." Sakura replied, gasping and pretending to be devastated about the news.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Just tell her your feelings, Forehead! And stop acting like a cutesy girl in front of him, that will not work."

The pink-haired girl raised her chopsticks in protest. "What the!" A blush took over her cheeks in mixture of embarrassment and anger. "I'm not acting! I just- I couldn't contain my reactions, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Ino waver her hand. "No explanations needed. He probably thinks you're a weird girl or if your feelings haven't been obvious, he certainly knows how you feel for him." Ino continued, rolling her eyes once again.

This time, Sakura wasn't faking it; she gasped in response. "You think? Am I that obvious?"

"Like I said, you act like those stupid fangirls of his, swooning at the mere sight of him. Blushing at the slightest contact, seriously Forehead? I thought you were better than that." Ino scolded her friend.

"I am not swooning!" Sakura sighed after a minute; her tone changed considerably. "Can we please stop talking about this? I am contented just being his companion from time to time. You know that, right?"

"Fine. But in my defense, this is my way of looking after you. You had been in love with the guy, since what? Forever? I can't help but be concerned."

"And I appreciate it. It's been a while since I spent my lunchtime with you, let alone talk to you. I missed your bitchiness, Pig." Sakura smiled.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Forehead."

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It had been exactly twenty-three days since Sakura got the chance to spend some time with either Sasuke or Naruto. The two of them still came to class, but more often than not, the pink-haired girl would notice the blonde dozing off in the middle of a lecture while the basketball heartthrob would be fighting off to stay awake.

She always tried to catch a glimpse of their training after class. She also heard that they often called it quits by nine in the evening. Moreover, they had to do their homeworks and other responsibilities in school after that. And the classes would start at eight in the morning. So, Sakura totally understood when one morning Naruto said his apologies for _abandoning_ her. As usual, Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

"No, no. What are you apologizing for? You guys have practice." Sakura shook her head.

"I know, but we're friends, right? I feel like we ditched you." Naruto countered.

Sakura stood up from her seat and placed her hands on top of Naruto's shoulders. "Listen. Joining the basketball team does not necessarily mean that we're not friends anymore. You guys are busy, I get it. Next week, you're going to have your first match, right? And as your friend, I will be there to support you and Sasuke-kun. I know you can win that one." She smiled this time.

Naruto returned the gesture. "I am a hundred percent sure we can this one, Sakura-chan! Especially now that I know you're there!" He held up his hand and gave her a thumbs-up.

That was when Sasuke had chosen to interject in the conversation. "Don't be cocky, idiot. Iwa is pretty good." He was seated by the window again, using his right hand to support his head.

"So, what! Are you saying that we can't beat them?" Naruto nearly shouted.

Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest. "I am not saying we can't. I'm just reminding you to focus."

Sakura blinked at the sight of the two bickering. She smiled; she has pretty missed the two of them for almost a month. Although most of the time, Naruto would be try to confess his feelings. And sometimes he would also compliment her and try to drop some hints. She missed his goofiness and his energy.

And as for Sasuke, they rarely talked. But then, she had always felt safe whenever he is around. They enjoyed the comfortable silence be it in the court or in the classroom or wherever. And she had craved that feeling ever since. She remembered that time she borrowed his hoodie; it smelled so nice. She wished she could just keep it, but unfortunately, she had returned it immediately the following day. She felt embarrassed just remembering it.

Moreover, Tenten had given her knowing looks whenever she would be talking to Sasuke. And that would even lead for the pink-haired girl's cheeks to blush more. Tenten had certainly enjoyed teasing her.

Meanwhile, Kakashi finally arrived and cleared his throat to make his presence known. As the students settled down on their seats, Kakashi started teaching and writing something on the board. Hours gone by and before anyone could notice, the ring belled. The students raced to the cafeteria for their lunchbreak. But not Sakura.

She had been asked by Kakashi to see him during the break for an important class representative duty. The teacher apologized to Sakura for being tasked to stay a little late due to paperworks she had to submit. He also pointed out that since Sasuke would be having his usual late practice; he could not burden him anymore. Sakura smiled in response telling Kakashi it was fine, that she could manage to do it alone.

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The pink-haired girl had called her parents, informing them that she would be a little late. Well, considering it was already thirty minutes past the hour of nine, it could not be considered a little anymore. She was sure it was only her and the body guard remaining in the school.

She sprinted through the hallway of the building, ready to submit the reports Kakashi had mentioned. She noticed that the light was still on in the faculty room so she knocked twice and excused herself. Sakura was kinda surprise to see Kakashi still there.

"Sensei? You're still here?" She asked as she went inside of the room.

"Sakura? You hadn't gone home yet? I thought you already left and finished it all at home." Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows.

She laughed nervously explaining that she had not noticed the time. Kakashi then expressed his concern over her safety considering how late it was. He even offered to call her parents to fetch her up. However, she quickly told him that she lived nearby and it would only take her fifteen minutes to go home.

She politely bowed her head and dashed off the room.

As she raced along the corridors, she noticed that the gym's lights are still on. She made a quick trip to look if the basketball team were still there, but only found Sasuke packing his things up.

The raven-haired guy noticed her right away. "What do you think you're doing? It's 9: 41." He said without looking up from his bag.

"Kakashi-sensei assigned me some reports to finish." She answered, walking in the middle of the court. "You guys still practice until this hour?"

Sasuke then glared at her. "You should be home by now. It's late."

Not expecting the sudden anger she was receiving from Sasuke, she tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you mad at me? I was only asking you a question."

"Tch, you're annoying." He said, slinging his bag on his right shoulder. And in other instances, she would have retorted, but she was tired and hungry and sleepy. She wanted nothing but to get home right away.

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As they exited the school altogether, she smiled at him telling him to get home safely. She turned around facing the empty streets, knowing that Sasuke's home was the other way around. After taking a few steps, she turned around once again to wave at him. He was still standing near the gates of the school, his face unreadable as ever.

She was a bit disappointed. A simple "Take care and get home safely" would do, she thought. She sighed, of course, this was _Sasuke-kun_ we were talking about. _What are you thinking Sakura?_

While she was scolding herself a few more times, she noticed the roads are dead silent. Comparing it to the busy streets with many people during day time, Sakura realized how truly late it was for a student going back home.

And as she was walking down the street, she could not help but feel nervous. She clutched her bag more tightly; she was half-walking, half-running. She never dared to look back, afraid that someone might be following her. Then she heard footsteps, a man's, keeping up with hers.

Before she knew it, she was running. She turned to the left but still she could sense someone following her, running too, this time. Leaving with no choice, she opened her mouth to scream. But not before the man grabbed her and covered her mouth with his hand.

With wide terror eyes, she turned her face to face her abductor. Wild thoughts keep running through her mind like what would this man do to her: Would he take her things? Would he molest her? Kidnap her? Perhaps, murder her? What would her parents feel?

But then she visibly relaxed once she saw the face of the man. It was Sasuke.

He had released her once he was certain she would not cause any noise anymore. She exhaled a sound of relief, clutching her chest, breathing heavily. She wanted to shout at him for scaring her, but she had never felt thankful it was him.

Before any words went out of Sasuke's mouth, a few tears run down his companion's face. He looked away in an instant, uncomfortable at the sight.

Wiping her tears she had not realized started flowing down, she apologized. "I am sorry, Sasuke-kun. I was just really scared. I- I did not realize it was you." She uttered, still gasping for air to breathe.

"If you are this defenseless, you should have thought about the consequences of going home at this ungodly hour." He said, trying to keep himself from being mad at her and himself.

"I know. I am sorry." She bowed her head. Her knees felt like jelly; her body still shaking from what had happened a few minutes ago.

Sasuke exhaled loudly. "Come on, I'll walk you home." He said, turning his back.

She took a few steps forward, trying to calm her racing heart. "You don't have to. Your house is the other way around." She insisted; her voice still trembling.

Hearing such an absurd thing, Sasuke glowered at her. "If you can just look at yourself right now. I am certain you will faint any time now." A scowl made its way into his lips. "Stop whining and let's get you home."

A tense silence between the two. Sakura watched Sasuke's back as they crossed the streets. While waiting for the stop light, she heard the sound of his stomach grumbling. He averted his eyes, knowing she heard it. "You can have your late dinner at home. I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind."

"It's fine."

"No, I insist. You bothered to walk me home. Not to mention, you had your training. I am sure you must be really tired. I am sorry again for this." Her brows furrow in concern and guilt.

Before they knew it, they reached Sakura's home. They stopped a few meters away from the doorstep. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun. Sorry for this. Please have your dinner at home or I can pack some food for you. I remember you like onigiri, I can ask Mom."

Her non-stop apologies annoy the hell out of him. _Why does she always apologize for the things she was not even at fault? Annoying girl._

Once again, Sasuke would be turning down her offer. However, the sound of the door opening interrupted them.

"Sakura! My dear goodness! Do you know what time is it?" Mebuki nearly shouted. She then noticed Sasuke. "Well, well, what do we have here?" She made a quick once-over at the young man before her eyes brighten up. "Oh! You must be Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Mom!" Sakura shook her head and made a few hand gestures Sasuke could not comprehend.

Sasuke nonetheless bowed his head in respect. "What a fine, young man we got here. Tell me, are you now dating my daughter? I heard so many good things about you from Sakura."

"Mom! Jeez, please." Sakura interrupted her mom again. She placed her hand on her face. She kept preventing her eyes from meeting Sasuke's, but she could tell he was smirking.

"Oh come on, Sakura. Invite him over." Mebuki ushered the poor guy in their house. "I know my daughter's pretty handful. Thank you for looking after her. She tends to study too much that she forgets what is life outside of school. Knowing she have a boyfriend as attractive and respectful as you, I feel at ease." She added, lowering her voice only for Sasuke to hear.

He merely nodded in response, but a clear amusement was written all over his face. And when he was forced to sit down at the dining area, he tried to voice out his protest. "I do not wish to impose, Mrs. Haruno."

"Nonsense." She waved her hand in dismissal. "Sakura-dear, sit beside our young Sasuke. I know that you teenagers must be hungry."

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After dinner, Sakura accompanied Sasuke until they reached the side of the road.

"Sorry again for this, Sasuke-kun. I did not know my mom would be acting like this." She exhaled. "I know your family must be worried about you. Sorry for keeping you here far longer than I expected. Please ignore also those things my mom said to you. Gosh, I was never this embarrassed."

"It's fine. Just learn to say no. Your mother's right, you should also look after yourself."

A blush made its way to her cheeks after hearing that. She bowed again, apologizing. "Please get home safely. It's almost eleven now." She paused, contemplating if what she was about to say was appropriate. "Can you text me once you get home?"

Sasuke blinked in response. Panicking, the pink-haired girl shook her head too many times saying she take it back.

They had exchanged numbers for a group project they had a couple of months ago, but never once messaged nor called each other. It was always through Naruto. If by chance, this would be the first time, Sasuke would be messaging a girl his age.

"Aa. I will."

At the sound of his voice, she stopped talking. She smiled shyly and sent him off.

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By 11:30, Sakura's phone buzzed.

 _Your mother's cooking is good._

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The opening of the basketball season was attended by over three thousand students occupying Konoha High's gymnasium. Among the crowd was Sakura and Ino. While Ino was cheering loudly, Sakura kept to her seat clapping her hands every time Konoha would score a basket.

Embarrassingly enough, Naruto would flash her a wide grin and a thumbs-up whenever he would score. The pink-haired girl feeling couple of eyes on her would nervously sip into her iced tea.

Sasuke was great; Sakura can tell all eyes were on him. She was certain he had stolen all the girls' hearts in the gym.

At the halftime, the score was Konoha-47 vs Iwa-41. She had noticed how often Sasuke would run his hand through his hair whenever he was getting frustrated. There was this other player on the other team who was playing too aggressively.

It was number 8 of Iwa, someone named Han. It was obvious he was going after Sasuke. He tried to elbow Sasuke in the cheek causing an intense atmosphere in the court. Naruto had even tried to ask what the problem of this player was. Until the referees separated the players.

Sakura stood up, worried about the two of her closest guy friends. Ino squeezed her shoulder in support. Her best friend reassured her by telling her it would be fine.

At the end of the game, Konoha won. 81-74. And although everyone in Konoha was happy; it was clear that Sasuke was not satisfied. Sakura was sure it had something to do with Iwa player number 8.

As she caught a glimpse of the players going to the dugout, he was shaking his head in discontentment. She brought out her phone and sent him a quick message.

" _You did great."_

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A/N: Okay, I lied. This will be composed by more than three chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter.

Newsflash! I will be starting this job thing next week. I hope things go well. See you guys soon.

And please please leave me a review. That will be very much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

The team made it into the semifinals. Konoha High was in such high spirits; banners were all over the halls of the school. Everyone (maybe almost everyone if not all) talked about it, that Konoha could win the championship once again just like a year ago. There were days wherein both Naruto and Sasuke would be excused from going to class for them to be able to concentrate in their practice.

Sakura found it absurd at first. She felt that it was unfair, having been excused to do homeworks and other school stuff just because they are part of the basketball team. She witnessed how their entire school gushed over Sasuke; he had always been ambushed by a lot of girls.

It was stupid really, how suddenly everything is about the basketball team. However, thinking about Sasuke and Naruto and how they both worked hard to earn the spot in the final 4, made her change her way of thinking.

As she made her way in the gym, posters were held proudly by the fans, mostly girls screaming Sasuke's name all over. She also noticed Naruto's parents already seated behind the team's bench. Sakura looked around once again; almost everyone in the school was gathered in their school gym. Classes were even suspended as to make way for the first game of the semifinals.

She remembered a year ago; she had witnessed how Konoha won every game. She watched Sasuke from afar and how he looked happy at the moment. Now, everything was different. Two of the stars of their basketball team had become dear to her.

The way she looked at Sasuke changed. He was not the inspiration crush sort of thing anymore. She did not find him cool anymore. Instead, she could now see him as her friend. Not the cool basketball guy, but someone she could actually trust and confide in. She hoped that he felt the same.

She easily found Ino waiting for her in the middle of the crowd. The look she was giving Sakura suggested that the blonde was not happy for making her wait. The pink-haired girl hurried up and settled down to a seat next to Ino, offering some apologies and making an excuse of finishing her home work. Ino gave her an incredulous look.

"Seriously? Sasuke Uchiha, the boy you had crush on since I could remember is going to have one of the most important games in Konoha's history, and you care about a stupid school stuff?" Ino rolled her eyes, exasperated.

Sakura made a shushing noise. "Shhh! Ino, gosh." A clearly mortified Sakura looked around to make sure no one heard her best friend.

Ino snorted. "What? Sasuke probably knows it. He just doesn't want to compromise his friendship with Naruto."

Before Sakura could comment about what Ino said, a round of applause interrupted their conversation. Both of the players entered the court; the cheers had even become louder. The fans of both teams stood up from their seats and chanted their school cheers.

Unlike before, the pink-haired girl did not only focus her attention to Sasuke. She really did watch the game and she was beyond amazed how the teamwork, dedication, and effort his schoolmates shown throughout the game.

It was an easy win for Konoha against Suna. No one could argue that Sasuke was the best player of the game with 20 points that lead to a ten point win for Konoha. Unlike any other games, every basketball expert could say that the Uchiha had never been focused and determined to win.

The only thing that bothered Sakura was they had yet to face Iwa in the finals.

But she could not dwell to that fact any longer for Naruto did not even think twice before trying to drag her into the middle of the court. She protested many times and even sought out Ino's help, but the the way Naruto looked into her that afternoon had her shut up. Amidst the celebration, the crowd had even gone wilder as the fans cheered louder, delighted and ready to support the team into the finals.

Sakura did not see it coming before Naruto hugged her in front of thousands of people. She stood there, stupefied of what happened before the blonde loud-mouth had even pulled her childhood crush even closer. It was then that everyone had become silent to listen to one of the Konoha's rising stars.

"I did my best because I knew you were watching, Sakura-chan." Naruto said while still having the girl in his arms. It seemed that he did want to be taken seriously this time. He released her and placed both of his hands in either side of her shoulders.

"Now, in front of these many people, I want to tell you how you mean to me. Not just a friend. I want us to be so much more. Sakura-chan, I did not do this to pressure you. I just want to let everyone know how serious I am. You don't have to respond in any way right now. But please think about what I just said to you. My feelings never changed." He continued on as he looked right into the emerald eyes of hers.

Sakura's eyes widened fractionally before averting her eyes elsewhere. She searched for Ino into the crowd, and not only did she realize that everyone had stopped cheering, but Sasuke was only a few meters away from them.

Before she could process what was going on, she sprinted towards the nearest exit and did not look back.

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Sakura just wanted to die right now rather than go to school. She clutched her bag tightly as she could feel that all eyes were on her as she entered the school gates. Whispers and rumors spread like a wildfire. It had even turned worse when she decided to go to the girls' comfort room.

"How awful. She could have just said yes to him and break up afterwards. She had made Uzumaki into a laughing stock." Sakura heard as she was passing by the restrooms.

"I know. I feel sorry for Naruto. Yes, the guy is funny and all, but she doesn't have to do that. He was just being romantic, the least she could do was to spare him from embarrassment. How could she be so heartless."

"Oh my God, not to mention, Uzumaki's parents were there in the game, right?"

Sakura had immediately turned around, ready to go back home and cry her heart out. She knew before going to class what could happen if she showed up right after what happened last time, but she certainly did not expect it to be this bad.

She tried to hold onto her tears before bumping into her bestfriend near the lockers. Ino stiffened at the sight of Sakura. The blonde opened her mouth to say something, but Sakura did not let her for she had already excused herself and run faster.

She wanted nothing but confide with Ino right now, but she also knew that she would be dragging her closest female friend into her mess. And that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

She was a few meters before reaching up the school entrance when from a distance she had already caught a glimpse of the ones she wanted to avoid the most. Walking side by side were none other than Sasuke and Naruto.

A feeling of panic grew in her when Naruto's eyes found hers. Her pulse had even quickened more when she saw him walking fast towards her. Abandoning her earlier plan, she rushed back to the school once again, trying to avoid a confrontation with a certain someone.

What Sakura did not see was how Naruto's shoulders slumped at the sight of her in such a mess.

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Sasuke had no idea how to react. Naruto had been quiet..and this was a side of his best friend he had not seen yet. Earlier in the morning, coincidentally and due to the fact that they were neighbors, it was not surprising when Sasuke had caught up to Naruto who was already closing their gate.

Not only the usual loud-mouth early that day but he had also not uttered a single word to him. But still, Naruto had stopped in his tracks as he waited for his best friend to catch up to him. If this was one of the ordinary days, Sasuke would try to avoid Naruto and walk faster.

But not this time.

After Sakura had left the gymnasium during the game, the raven-haired boy watched as everyone fell into a deeper silence that made the atmosphere even more awkward. Sasuke could actually say that he was the one that broke the spell as he clamped Naruto's back and gestured for the blonde to head to the dugout.

And since then, Naruto did not bother him like the usual. He had kept his thoughts to himself. Sasuke found him staring into a void space more than usual, as if still processing if what happened really happened.

Back to the present, he watched as Sakura had fled once again. This time, Naruto did not even look back to his companion and walked into the opposite direction.

Sakura did not bother to show up in class.. Naruto did not either.

Sasuke sighed for the nth time that day. With the basketball season still ongoing and the finals in a week, the more girls had bothered him and tried to ambush him. He cursed both of his usual companions under his breath for leaving him to deal such a mess.

Irritated and exhausted from dealing with a crowd of girls everywhere, he went to the gym expecting to see his best friend there. He figured out that Naruto may had come there to release his stress and avoid people. Sasuke had even planned on knocking sense into his teammate to the extent that he would beat the shit out of him so that Naruto could put his act together. However, a certain pink-haired girl was already there in her usual spot in one of the benches, sobbing.

One thing was how to act around Naruto, but this..a crying girl had always made him uncomfortable. Not to mention this was Sakura. She's… _different_.

He was fully aware of what was Naruto's intentions as soon as he saw his teammate dragging the poor girl into the court. And despite the fact that he had kept silent the entire time, Sasuke felt uneasy at the sight of his best friend confessing his feelings to the annoying girl.

The closing of the door had alerted Sakura of Sasuke's presence. Sakura, in return, had her eyes widened while Sasuke decided to approach the girl silently, sitting down a couple of chairs away from her.

When the girl had seemed to calm herself, she had let out an incoherent excuse to leave. But before she could even stand up, Sasuke's voiced echoed throughout the gymnasium.

"Are you running away again?"

That made the trick. Sakura tensed up and avoided his peering eyes. "Sasule-kun..I.. I'm sorry. I just..I was too shocked. I don't know wh-"

"I did not ask you to explain. Nor you have to apologize of what happened. Naruto should have known that before he did that in front of many people." He immediately cut her off. He eyed her discreetly, gauging her reaction. He noticed her disheveled locks, her tear-stained cheeks, and her uneasiness around him.

"If you let every single word bother you, it will not lead anywhere but destroy everything around you."

With her mouth agape, she turned her head towards the raven-haired guy. Feeling her eyes on him, he had also inclined his head in her direction. "What? You must think I'm comforting you. But I'm not."

She was quick to avert her eyes and looked down. Sasuke had not also missed how she gripped the hem of her skirt.

"You might be wondering why I am wasting my time here while that idiot is nowhere to be found." He turned his head away this time, looking straight into the basketball ring. "I couldn't care less what will happen between you and Naruto. But the finals will be within a week. And he will drag us all down with him. I don't usually interfere with this sort of thing. Don't get me wrong; I'm not asking you to humor him and pretend around him. I know him better than anyone to force you into anything. What's bothering him the most is how you reacted and how he caused you all this trouble. That's all."

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Just talk to him. He may be one clueless idiot, but I know he would listen to what you had to say to him."

Sasuke had walked her home that day. But what she didn't see coming was it even lead to a much worse scenario.

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Sakura had not even noticed that it had already been a week since the incident and she had not had any opportunity to talk to Naruto. More rumors had even spread since then; she had also avoided practically everyone in their class save for Sasuke, who most of the time couldn't care less and still approached her first.

Of course, he was doing it because Naruto must have told Sasuke to look after her. That's the only logical explanation she could come up. But her over dramatic and psycho of a best friend had teased her nonstop for the last week.

And just like the last time, Sakura had insisted for Ino to take a seat first in one of the benches and told her to reserve a seat. And although Ino had always had Sakura wanting to bang her head due to the blonde's gossips and the like, Sakura could count on her whenever she needs a friend.

And even if the teasing did not stop, Ino had been supportive the entire week. She had attentively listened to every word Sakura had told her. And just like what had Sasuke told her, Ino had also advised her best friend to clear things up with Naruto. From what Ino had recalled during that conversation, the pink-haired girl had totally agreed. However, she had also told Ino that she needed time to think through of what she had to say.

It may be unthinkable for her to face Naruto at this time..with a few minutes away of him going to the game 1 of the finals. Nevertheless, Sakura also knew that if she did not seek him right now, she would chicken out once again that would even lead to a more damage in their friendship.

She headed to the dugout and surprisingly, she had found his target easily. Naruto was already wearing his jersey uniform, tying his shoes just right outside of the team's locker room. She had exhaled heavily before approaching his childhood friend.

"Naruto?"

At the sound of his name, Naruto had whipped his head into the familiar voice's direction. There she was, the girl he had always longed for ever since. She was playing with the hem of her blouse; Naruto could easily tell how nervous she was.

"Sakura-chan.." He started as he slowly closed the distance between them. He had stopped a few meters away from her, afraid he would make her feel uncomfortable again.

"You don't have to apologize..if that's what you are going to say to me. I get it. All I wanted is for us to go back to the way it is. I can accept that you don't feel the same way towards me, but if our friendship will suffer because of this, then forget it."

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but the rest of team had interrupted their conversation when they made their presence known. One of them even reminded Naruto that they already have to go to the court to do warm-ups.

"We'll talk later."

That was the last thing Naruto told her before running to catch up with his teammates. And before she could completely lose sight of him, she shouted a good luck, to which Naruto raised his hand in acknowledgement.

What Sakura failed to notice was Sasuke still in the team's locker room.

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It was the most physical and intense game the entire season. Every one was on their feet whenever there was a hard foul committed by the other team. Iwas had been getting on Konoha's players. It was pretty obvious how dirty they play.

And due to the immense frustration, Sasuke had even pushed one of the players that resulted to a brawl in court. And if weren't for the referees, it would surely turned into an uglier scene.

With the pressure and exasperation they were feeling, Sakura was not surprised that they had lost their first game (although it was a close game, with Iwa only winning by four points).

She had also took notice of Sasuke's injured hand in the third quarter because of a hard foul committed by number 8 once again. He must had been enduring it the entire time just to win and act out as the leader of the team.

She did not even respond to Ino's shouts as she headed straight into the dugout, not caring that the guards were trying to stop her. But to her shock, the Iwa players had found her first instead. Han, the player number 8, gave her once over before snickering.

"Oh, worried about Uzumaki?" The players started to corner her in the nearby wall. But Sakura knew better than to let them push her over.

"Get out of my way!" She tried to push them, but logic says she could not possibly get past five tall and bulky guys.

"Woah! Calm down, Pinky. Come to think of it, we did not even corner that blonde idiot that much. Afterall, Uchiha carries the team." Han raised both of his hands in mock surrender while the other players laughed.

She glared at him in return. "If you could not even fight fairly, you are nothing but a coward."

Then as if in a slow motion, Han pinned both of her arms in the either side of her head. Her eyes widened fractionally ready to fight back when he had even tried to get closer to her. "Oy Han! We'll get in trouble!" One of his teammates reminded the Iwa's team captain, but did nothing to interfere.

"You're pretty. Say, let's have a date?" He had even inhaled her scent. The alarms in Sakura's head kept on ringing to do something, anything.

Out of the blue, the strong grip that was keeping her in place was gone and the next thing she knew, Han was already on the floor, clutching his bruised cheek. And due to her shock, she lost her footing and merely stared in disbelief. The other players had also been pushed to the side.

"Stay away from her. Or the next time, I will not hold back."

Sakura did not even protest as her savior pulled her up and dragged her away from the scene.

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"You are so damned annoying!" Sasuke shouted as soon as he locked the door of an empty classroom. He was basically panting and his right hand was already bleeding. He was already too irritated from what happened earlier and when he came back from the clinic, what he had seen had made him see red.

Sakura did nothing but stare in horror; never had she seen Sasuke this angry. "What do you think you're doing! Were you even watching the game?! Those were not ordinary high school players!" His eyes furrowed; she could see how he was trying calm himself down by clenching and unclenching his fists.

Sasuke was once again to lash out at her when her sniffs echoed the entire room causing him to swallow the insensitive words he was about to say. She stood there unmoving; her tears dropping in the floor. Sasuke slammed his right hand in the wall once again in pure frustration.

The impact of his fist connecting to the wall had worsened his already bleeding injury in his right hand. By then, the bandages wrapped around his right hand had completely turned red.

And before Sakura could even think, she had put her arms around his waist. His back had been drenched by her tears in a second. The hand that was once again a second away from slamming the wall paused mid air. The fury he had been feeling vanished into thin air as he tried to catch his breath. He had slowly put his hands on top of hers, trying to disentangle them.

"I'm sorry..I'm sorry." She repeated nonstop, burying her face further into his back. The pink-haired girl must had been too stressed for her own good she couldn't care less about their close proximity.

In contrary to what he would normally do whenever a girl would attach to him like a leech, he did not exert much effort for her to let go. They even stayed like that for like an eternity, with his back facing her and her tears never stopped flowing.

However, the worst is yet to come.

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A/N: Sorry for the delay. There's just too much going on in my life. This will probably end in 5 or 6 chapters. Editing and slight changes will probably done the next weekend.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

He had no idea what came over him that made him do that. He could only remember how he was about to lose control at the sight of a certain annoying girl who was too clueless for her own good to notice the danger she was currently in.

He never really thought about his actions, the next thing he saw was the blood on his hand. He was so livid that he could not feel the pain. The sound of her crying and the feel of her arms around him brought him back to his senses, but he knew that what he did could very much affect the team and their chances of winning the championship. He could get suspended for a game, or worse, he wouldn't play in the finals anymore.

After all, he had gotten into a fight with the opposing team's player. He was the one who initiated the fight. Hell, he punched that lowlife in the face.

But he also realized he did not regret any of his actions. He was not even contented yet with a single punch. And hearing the girl mumble apologies after apologies, he could not help but feel his anger rise again.

"Sakura…" He started but then again his voice could not compete to the sound of her cries. The way he bit his lower lip could give away how he was trying to compose himself despite of what transpired within the day.

"M' really sorry.. really." She continued to mumble while sobbing against his back.

A heavy sigh escaped the raven-haired guy's lips. He hadn't much had experience when it came to crying girls, much less a certain pink-haired girl. However, he knew how easily she could get embarrassed.

"Are you seriously going to cry all over my back?" He knew he said the right thing, for the girl gasped in surprise, instantly putting some distance between them.

He quietly observed the girl as he turned to face her. Her bangs had apparently shielded his view on her emerald eyes, but there were certain things that didn't go unnoticed to Sasuke: her disheveled locks, her trembling form, the way she bit her lower lip to suppress her cries.

And as he took in the sight of her, so defenseless, so pure, there was this sudden overwhelming feeling within him that he could not brush off. I never want to see her again in this state, he silently vowed to himself to do everything in his power to protect this little annoying girl.

"Tch, stop crying." He awkwardly started rubbing the back of his neck while looking anywhere but her. "Come on, I'll walk you home." He proceeded to walk towards the door. He visibly relaxed when he heard her hesitant footsteps, but not until he felt her grip on the hem of his hoodie to stop him from going further.

He sighed as he turned around once more to face the pink-haired girl. "What is it this time? If you're going to apologize once more, forget it."

Sasuke immediately noticed how she stopped crying, but her face was red all over. She did not bother to reply as he followed her gaze only to see his worsening injury on his left hand.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go." He quickly brushed it off as he once again made a move to open the door. However, the outburst coming from his companion had completely took him off-guard.

"No! How can we just leave it like that! You're a basketball player, you should've been more careful of your hands! Now, let's get you to the clinic!" She started pulling him as they exited the room and into the empty hallways.

As if she hadn't been crying for almost an hour or so, she lectured him for not taking care of himself, and yet he got the feeling he should be the one scolding her.

This girl never failed to surprise him.

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The way she frowned as she tended to his hand had already confirmed his earlier theory of his hand's condition worsening. Earlier in the game, that scumbag team captain of Iwa did a little thing or two that resulted into a wound in his left hand when he tried to shield his face from crashing into the sharp edge of the backboard.

The cut was not really bad at first, but when he still tried to play in the fourth quarter, any one could guess how badly it turned out for his poor hand.

When they entered the clinic, they were not surprised to find out that the school nurse already left for it was already past the hour of five in the afternoon. Once again, Sasuke was about to disregard the numbing pain he was feeling in his left hand, but Sakura had beaten him into it.

She immediately explained that she could do it and that he had nothing to worry about, as she was rummaging for the first aid kit in the drawers. Meanwhile, Sasuke, knowing he could not do anything but let her do as she please, sat quietly on the nearby bed while waiting for her.

She was gentle in the way she unwrapped the bandages on his left hand. She was heavily focused on his left hand that her bangs started to fall onto her face. Sasuke was trying to fight the sudden urge to tuck those loose strands behind her ears.

He carefully observed how her hands were so small compared to his; they were soft and delicate. In the few months that he knew this girl, this was the first time he actually started to look at her, the way she furrowed her brows when she was concentrating, her soft, tiny hands warm against his skin, her eyes so green, making them unique and expressive.

As he started to realize he was staring, he quickly scolded himself mentally for entertaining such ridiculous thoughts. Like, what the hell he was thinking.

He knew she wanted to be a doctor someday for Naruto babbled about her almost every day. Now, he could actually see her in that white coat. It totally suits her. He was sure the kids would love her.

She smiled brightly like she usually does as she examined her work. She gave him a few reminders on how to treat his wound as if she already is a doctor. Sasuke did nothing but nod his head. He did not know when did he actually started to let her into his personal space nor when they started to get this close. He always just looked at her as Naruto's childhood friend, Naruto's girl or whatever.

And that outside of Naruto, he never thought of spending time with her alone, but, as they walked together towards the gym to pick up their bags, he realized that there were already many instances when they had actually hung out without the idiot, and that he did not see her in that way anymore.

The fact that he had gotten mad over her, brought out certain emotions from within him. This power she held over him made him want to scream at her for bewitching him.

But no matter how many times he disregarded these things, he knew he had already fallen for her trap.

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As they walked along the streets, she did not protest when he insisted on walking her home. She was silent the entire time; she was not blushing like she usually would whenever their hands would come in contact.

She was nervous, so nervous that Sasuke could not help but to point it out. She quickly averted his gaze as they turned around a corner. "It's just that, Sasuke-kun, what if you get suspended because of me?"

Ah.. so that's what kept her thoughts running wild.

"You worry too much." He replied shortly. She opened her mouth to voice out her concerns but this time, Sasuke was able to cut her off.

"We're here."

Sakura was so preoccupied with her thoughts she did not even know for how long they were walking, she'd been so deep in her thoughts that she was just walking and following Sasuke's lead, not bothering to actually focus on where they were going. In fact, Sasuke had to pull her twice when she was about to cross the street when the light was red.

"If you always space out like that, you could get lost. Or worse." He paused as he exhaled heavily trying not to get worked up again. "Before you worry about other people, you should worry about yourself." And without thinking, he poked her forehead, trying to knock some sense into her.

However, he did not expect for her to stare at him in shock and in wonder on what happened. He started to feel embarrassed as well as he quickly noticed the way her cheeks started to paint red.

He had given some incoherent excuse to leave right away as he turned around and started walking briskly, leaving a completely dazed Sakura in front of her house.

And for the umpteenth time of that day, Sasuke wanted to bang his head straight into a nearby tree for losing his cool.

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Naruto was beyond frustrated the entire game; he felt that he could've performed better. Yes, the opposing team's players irked him to no end. However, he also knew what Sasuke was doing the entire game and that was what irked him more.

That bastard of his best friend was trying to get all Iwa's players' attention solely focused on him despite how dangerous it was. Sasuke knew their dirty tactics; Naruto knew all along what that smug of a team captain was trying to do. And in response, Sasuke was trying to create openings for the rest of Konoha's players including Naruto.

And the fact that bastard got hurt in the third quarter had Naruto wanting to punch that Han in the face.

Konoha was clearly in a crisis the entire game, and seeing Sasuke hurt had even made it worse. The rest of the team had lost their confidence and their cool. It was the most physical game of the year.

So when the game ended, their coach instructed Sasuke to go to the clinic straightaway while the team still gathered at the center of the court bowing to the audience. Naruto being Naruto, he went after his best friend right away.

Unfortunately, he found the clinic empty.

He actually searched for him, but to no avail, even the coach had no idea where he went. He also did not come back for the team's meeting late in the afternoon. That is why Naruto was standing right in front on his best friend's house, waiting impatiently.

He'd already seen his best friend from afar looking lost in his own thoughts. The blonde had also quickly noticed the fresh and neat bandage around Sasuke's left hand. And when Sasuke was close enough to notice him, Naruto started waving like crazy.

"Yo! I was searching for you all afternoon?! Where did you go?" The blonde did not waste a second and walked towards his friend, not bothering to wait.

"Nowhere." Sasuke replied shortly. And much to Naruto's confusion, Sasuke started to avoid his gaze.

"Hey, what's wrong? Does your injury hurt that much?" This time, Naruto started to feel anxious. In his opinion, aside from Sasuke's family, he was the only who could fully understand Sasuke well, so Naruto knew right away something was definitely wrong.

"Tch. It's nothing." Sasuke tried to get past the blonde and walked towards the Uchiha residence. However, Naruto was quick to intercept his friend.

"You don't think you can hide something from me, do you?" This time, Naruto's expression turned so serious that Sasuke got a little stunned for a moment.

When Naruto did not get any response from his friend, the blonde tried to console the Konoha's team captain. "I knew you hate it when I'm bothering you like this, but something was definitely off with you the whole game. And I can tell just based on your expression, whatever it is had turned you so anxious and such a wreck. And even if I ask you, you won't tell me, huh?"

Naruto's expression softened a little as he continued. "I've been watching you, you know? You've been avoiding me. I tried to tell myself that you were doing that because of the other team's dirty tricks, but you tried to blow me off again. The last time you had that same kind of expression on your face was back when I crashed the bicycle that you got from Itachi when we were nine. Why are you mad at me?"

Sasuke merely shrugged, not bothering to acknowledge his friend. "I'm not. Don't think too much, dobe."

And even before Naruto could try to nag his best friend once again, Sasuke was already closing the gates of their house. "Sas-!" He tried to call out once more, however, Itachi had put his right hand on the blonde's shoulder, smiling.

"Naruto-kun, thank you for your concern for my little brother. But I think he needs some nagging from me this time." Itachi said, smiling once again. "Trust me, I'll take care of it."

And with that, Naruto was left staring in front of the Uchiha's residence for a while, still too stunned of his friend's aloof attitude towards him.

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"So care to tell your big brother what's gotten into you?" Itachi had barged into Sasuke's room without even bothering to knock. The older Uchiha had made himself comfortable sitting on the bed, crossing his arms, looking at his little brother expectantly.

"Nothing for you to be concerned about," Sasuke said in response, continuing to fix the contents of his bag.

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"Nii-san.." Sasuke's shoulders slumped fractionally as he put his bag down on the couch and sat besides his older brother, giving up. For a while, he kept quiet, too preoccupied with his deep thoughts.

"I got into a fight with the other team." He said after a while.

"And?" Itachi inquired, turning his face to his younger brother expectantly.

"And what?" Sasuke shifted uncomfortably.

"It's not like you to get into fights. And more importantly, to brush off Naruto-kun like that," Itachi said casually; a slight concerned expression appeared on Itachi's face.

Sasuke felt like a child being scolded under his brother's scrutinizing gaze. But he also knew that he could not simply avoid his brother like what he did to Naruto. "Iwa had been pretty physical the entire game. I lost my temper."

"Naruto-kun's right. You're hiding something." Itachi said quickly as he took in the younger Uchiha's expression.

Sasuke frowned in response. "I'm just concerned I might get suspended because of it. I don't want him to find out about that."

"And you don't want him to find out because?" Itachi hadn't missed the way his brother clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he tried to look anywhere else. "Sasuke…"

"Fine. They tried to hurt her and I had to-"

"Her?"

"Tch. Sakura."

A silence took over between the two as Itachi stopped asking questions altogether. He had been busy studying his little brother's reactions the entire time. He never thought that one day his cute little brother would be so flustered, so messy before him. He smirked in response before laughing lightly.

"Ahhh.. I never thought this day would come." Itachi stretched his arms as he proceeded to lie down on the bed. "Sakura, huh? Is she pretty?"

"What?" Sasuke whipped his head so fast he could feel the bones of his neck cracking.

"I asked you if she's pretty." Itachi smiled knowingly.

"What kind of question is that? We were talking about-"

"I know. And it was just a simple question, Sasuke. Really. Why are you so worked up?" This time, Itachi could not help himself grinning.

"I am not. I actually have a serious problem here and you just started to ask some ridiculous questions."

"And yet, you still haven't answered my question." Itachi continued to press on, enjoying seeing this cute side from his little brother.

"She's..she's different."

Itachi laughed out loud this time much to Sasuke's embarrassment. "You really are an Uchiha, Sasuke. This just proves how different we are. You're very much like father; I just hope that you get to realize your feelings soon."

But before Sasuke could respond to that, Itachi's brows furrowed in concern. "Sakura.. is she Naruto's future girlfriend though?"

This had Sasuke swallowing whatever words he had to say and turned his head towards the window.

Meanwhile, Itachi observed quietly. Ah, so that's it…Sorry, Naruto-kun, I don't think my little brother will be able to face you for a while.

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When Naruto heard that the two of his closest friends were sent into the principal's office first thing on a Monday morning, his initial reaction was shock and disbelief. Sasuke and Sakura-chan were the top two students of their class, they were the model students, in fact. So why?

He went to see them right away but as he was about to knock on the door, he could hear Sakura crying. "It was all my fault. Sasuke-kun should not get suspended. He just tried to defend me."

"That was not an excuse for punching someone." The firm and steady voice of the principal could be heard as well.

Naruto paused midway as he continued to listen in to the conversation. He also figured out that Kakashi-sensei was there trying to defend his students. "Mr. Kitagawa, with all due respect, based on what my students have told you, don't you think it's unfair to suspend Uchiha? Sasuke was just trying to do what a sensible person would."

"I will still call your parents, Mr. Uchiha. They need to find out about this. Something this serious could not be overlooked. And Ms. Haruno? If the students in Iwa truly tried to attack you, you should've told us right away. I understand that you two were just trying to protect each other, but not telling us could also lead into more trouble in the future, you understand, right?

"The two of you have been our model students. I hope this situation will not happen again. Until then, I will coordinate with Iwa and get a thorough investigation regarding this incident. You two can leave, Kakashi-sensei, we still have a lot to discuss."

A little shocked, Naruto hid himself in a corner as his closest friends exited the room.

He could clearly tell Sakura was really crying while Sasuke was silent as ever; his bangs hiding the expression on his face.

"Sasuke-kun, I really am sorry about this. I- I don't know what to say anymore to keep them from calling your parents. What should I do?" They stopped midway in the corridors.

"Stop apologizing. Didn't I tell you to stop worrying about it?"

"But-"

"Come on. We have a class to attend. We'll talk about this later."

And Naruto could not help but notice the difference in their interactions from before to now. The difference in Sasuke's expression when talking to Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan's special treatment to Sasuke, their equally flushed reactions when their hands would accidentally touch.

And he suddenly felt like an idiot.

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At the end of the day, Sasuke and Sakura were tasked to write a report regarding the incident. They were asked to stay behind and submit the reports within the day.

Subconsciously, Sakura started to feel awkward being alone with him again. They were seated across each other, finishing their reports in their classroom. Their last encounter had been.. embarrassing. Sakura started to feel uncomfortable as she remembered the forehead poke and the cute way Sasuke rubbed his nape.

She did not even realize she stopped writing until the raven-haired guy looked at him expectantly. "What?"

He looked into her paper and got annoyed at the fact that she was only half-way through. Sakura must be out of her mind to think that the scowl on his face made him more attractive. She was also abashed for thinking such thoughts in the middle of completing their report.

He was too close, in her opinion. They were sharing one table after all. She could clearly see his long eyelashes, his smooth bangs, his bony cheeks, his lips. He was just so handsome.

"Stop spacing out and write."

He did not bother to look up as he spoke. And before Sakura could write once more, the Uchiha announced that he was done. Agitated, the pink-haired girl started to concentrate as well trying not to be too concerned about the fact that they were alone in the classroom and that he was couple of inches away from her.

Soon, Sasuke fell asleep as he was waiting for her to finish her work. Sakura could not help but observe the guy she had been crushing on sleep peacefully. Compared to his cool vibe, the guy who was sleeping across from her looked like an angel. He looked just like a prince from the tv dramas. She tried to keep quiet as much as possible not to disturb his nap.

Without even noticing, Sakura leaned in further to study her companion's face. A blush had made its way onto her cheeks as she examined the way his bangs would get into his face as the strong wind blew. She smiled contentedly, inclining her head to the right.

But Sakura had always been unlucky for the past few days. It was as if someone up there truly hated her, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and directed his gaze towards her.

She was too stunned, she was frozen in her spot; her eyes widened. Sasuke must be shocked as well; his onyx eyes boring into her emerald ones.

His eyes traveled from her emerald eyes to her button nose and then to her smooth pink lips. He did not miss the way she chewed her bottom lip, also one of the habits she does when she's nervous.

Only for about a few seconds after did Sakura realize what happened as she turned her head elsewhere, and started babbling nervously and made an excuse to leave altogether. But Sasuke was fast enough to hold her in place.

He held her arm just enough to get her to stay.

He did not say anything but stared at her. With his attention focused solely on her lips, Sakura unconsciously wet them. And Sasuke could not help but swallow at the sight of it.

"Sasuke-kun?" She questioned when she could no longer stand the heavy gaze she was receiving from the raven-haired guy.

He leaned in, too close until he was just a breath away from claiming her lips. His grip on her arm tightened; his eyes focusing on her eyes and then to her lips once again.

She felt like she was about to have a nervous breakdown; she was sure Sasuke could hear her heart jumping out of her ribcage.

He was about to close the distance between the two of them when a deep voice cut in. "I'm really sorry to interrupt you, my dear students, but I have to hand in your reports to the principal now." At the sound of Kakashi's voice, both of them stood up from their seats, so flustered that they could not look at each other.

"You did not even hear me enter the room. God, teenagers these days." Kakashi proceeded to collect the papers on the table.

As he was exiting the room, he turned back and looked at the still stunned faces of his two students. "You can go back to whatever you two were doing. I promise to keep it a secret. But just don't let other teachers catch you, we'll get into even deeper trouble. See you!" He waved his hand, shutting the door shut.

Sasuke was the one to recover first, looking at the red as tomato Sakura. He could not believe himself for almost doing such a thing. At that time, the face of his best friend flashed before his eyes, making him grit his teeth and leaving the pink-haired girl without bothering to say goodbye.

Sakura was left looking into an empty space, still trying to process what happened.

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A/N: Thanks to my lovely BETA- Nissaw for this! Sorry, I know it's been a while since I updated my stories-it's just that I got a little caught up with work.

Please leave me a review; I want to know what you guys think.


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